challenge

Weekly Challenge: Pre-Conflict Perspectives

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With great power comes the chance for great stupidity.

OK it's not exactly the touching saying we all associate with Spider Man, but it's a sad truth.  Power, from the power of physical force to the subtleties of charisma to the abilities granted from knowledge, gives us not just the ability to do things, but the ability to do very stupid things that have incredible impact.

The difference between doing the right thing and doing the wrong thing is often a matter of degree.  You need wisdom to know that degree.

So your exercise this week is to figure out where you may do something very, very stupid.  You know, beyond the other things you've done.

  1. List all the top 3 to 5 things you are good at or have influence in – skills you have, leadership you perform in your fandom, someone's ear you have.
  2. Now for each, ask how you could take those skills too far and cause damage.  Could your leadership at work end up pitting departments against each other if you keep up your rah-rah attitude?  Could your next novel be even better selling if you pandered a bit, but you know that would take you in the direction of being hack.

Think of what you could do – so you know when to stop before a benefit becomes a problem.

– Steven Savage

Weekly Challenge: Cultivate a Seed

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What we are in the future is determined by our past and our present.  The past is, well, past.  The future is yet to be determined.

So it's what we do in the present that matters.  We can miss this fact as we're looking too far back or too far forward.

So here's your weekly challenge.

Right now there's something you want to be or do in the future.  You aren't there yet, but you will be and hope to be.  Much like creating a garden, you've got a few planted seeds that you are hoping to cultivate into something wonderful.

Identify one of your "sees" right now.  Maybe it's trying to exercise more so you loose weight.  Maybe it's to learn a programming language to be a programmer.  Maybe it's to read more and get smarter.

Pick one of these seeds and ask yourself what you're doing to cultivate it and protect it so it can grow.  Are you reading up on eating better to improve your health?  Are you studying every day to improve your programming skill?  Do you have a big sticker on your television to remind you to read a half hour a day?

Identify what you're doing to protect and nurture that seed.

After that, maybe you'll want to take a look at the other seeds you've planted for the future . . .

– Steven Savage

Weekly Challenge: Carry Out One Inspiration

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Last week we discussed inspiring someone.  But inspiration can't do much unless you carry it out.

It's easy to get inspired, but too often it fades away in time.  We forget, we get busy, or worse we get lazy.

Following up on inspiration is a habit – and a skill – that has to be developed, maintained, and improved.  You have to make an effort, often a conscious one, to develop the ability to make ideas real.

So your goal this week is to take one piece of inspiration, either one you had recently or one you get this week – and make it real.

Write a column or a blog post.  Do that waiting piece of art.  Research that college you considered going to.  Something, anything, pick one thing this week that you're inspired to do and go and do it.

Come to think of it, maybe you could make a habit of this . . .

– Steven Savage